Voters must trust mayoral results

Dave Ware, left, and Johnny DuPree

Hattiesburg voters will head back to the polls to cast their ballots for mayor - after their first attempt on June 4 led to a trial filled with claims of voter fraud, witness and juror intimidation, and an initial verdict that later was tossed.

All five mayoral candidates who appeared on the June ballot will be back for the special election, the date of which has not been set yet by Gov. Phil Bryant.

In addition to Democrat Johnny DuPree and independent Dave Ware, independents Shawn O'Hara, Nathan Jordan and Clyde Stewart also will be on the ballot.

With just 37 votes separating the incumbent DuPree and Ware the first time around, it will be interesting to see what role - if any - the other candidates play. Will any of their supporters hop over to the side of one of the two heavy-hitters?

We also wonder how much the legal battles over the election will impact turnout for the special election.

Voter turnout for the June 4 election was only 37 percent. We hope voters are spurred into action and turnout for the special election is much, much higher.

There were problems with the June 4 election, big enough problems to make us - and a judge - question the results.

Although unlikely, we hope all the issues that plagued the last election will be absent from the next mayoral contest. The people of Hattiesburg deserve to have results they can trust.